


Suiren's Story

by Midlou



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-22
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-02-24 00:30:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13201848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Midlou/pseuds/Midlou
Summary: Lana begins to understand her place in the world, and herself... even if much later in life.





	1. The Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> Although I'm using the English anime names for ease of reading for NA readers, the story is written based on an understanding of the Japanese characterizations. Hopefully this doesn't throw off the flow too much :).

Dusk settled over the sky of Alola, and in a secluded cove of Akala Island a young woman sat in the water at the beach edge, wearing a one piece swimsuit with a Popplio floating aimlessly beside her. The waves washed over her lower body. Further out, a lone Wishiwashi led a group of it’s kin, and if one looked closer, it would seem as if an outline of a large fish was formed by the collection of Pokemon.

“Alola’s changed,” the blue haired girl sighed to the Popplio. Popplio responded with a half muted “Popopioo.”

She laid her head back and thought back on her day. She dealt with an ever increasing influx of customers, people wanting to rent water skis, people inquiring for the next cross Alola boat tour, and chastising a group from Unova who partied on a rental boat and left a giant mess for her to clean up among her regular duties. “I’m a trial captain now,” she shook her head “but it doesn’t really feel like it.”

In the years that followed since Ash Ketchum left the Alolan islands for parts unknown, the number of individuals challenging the trail captain herself dwindled.  
“Okay, time to go Wish,” Lana said as a red beam shot out from her Pokeball, instantly covering the white fish, before both went back into the Pokeball. The school that had been following her Pokemon immediately dispersed. 

~~~~

The beaches of Alola had continued to erode over the years. With most sections being three to six feet below the roadway that sat above the shore. Thankfully through local government and non-profit groups, access for beachgoers was maintained through sloped pathways and stairs.

As Lana walked along Wela beach, her Popplio bounding behind her, she watched the tourists and locals, laden with beach towels, umbrellas and all sorts of inflatable toys make their way off the beach and into their cars. Looking up at a particularly well-worn section of the beachhead, her attention was drawn to a figure leaning on the fence. 

A girl about her age with striking blond hair, held together by a chopstick in a medium sized bun, wearing an elegant off-pink sundress billowing in the breeze. What struck Lana the most about this girl was her forlorn expression. It seemed like she gazed out to the sea in sadness. It was an expression Lana had seen on a friend of hers many times before, during her youthful days at the Pokemon School.

“Lillie?!,” Lana called out above as she approached closer. Her suspicion confirmed as the girl snapped down to focus on her. 

“Lana? Is that you?!” Lillie replied, flattening the front of her skirt, surprised by the sight of her old friend. 

“Give me a second, I’ll be right up!!,” Lana replied. “Popplio, Balloon!”

A second later, the small blue pokemon created a water bubble around Lana, who floated up to her long-lost friend, as she watched incredulously. In a series of deft motions Popplio jumped up, lightly tapped Lana’s balloon and somersaulted over the balloon, landing on the grass near the fence. Popplio applauded for itself briefly, before being toppled over by another Pokemon. “Snooow,” the two pokemon shared what would best be described as a hug in human terms. 

“Poppy… a little help please,” Lana stared at her Pokemon as she continued to float in the bubble, a foot off the ground. 

The Pokemon hastily complied, popping its bubble and accidentally drenching the ice-fox Pokemon in the process. Snowball shook off her fur as Lana softly hopped onto the ground. 

“Wow, I see Popplio's training is still paying off.” Lillie said surprised. “I was worried you were going to try and climb up the cliff.”

Lana tilted her head and stuck out her tongue. Lillie went to speak, but instead rushed to embrace her friend. 

“That’s an expression I’ve not seen in a while. It's good to see you again,” Lillie spoke, as her blue-haired friend return the hug. 

The two broke contact “I barely recognized you!” they said in unison. 

After sharing a laugh Lillie was the first to speak “Me? Look at you Lana, your hair is so short now. And you look so athletic!”

“My hair?” Lana replied “What about yours? When did you start putting it up?”

“Oh this? I just didn’t feel like doing anything to it today, it’s actually longer now…” Lillie replied as she removed the chopstick. Her thin strands of blonde hair fell down, the ends rested slightly below her thigh “See?!”

Lana mimed removing an invisible chopstick from her hair, and looked over her shoulder “Huh, doesn’t seem to work on a pixie cut. At least your hair isn’t as crazy as your moms was.”

The two friends looked at each other before bursting into another fit of giggles. 

Snowball looked up to her trainer, then at Popplio. Popplio simply shrugged his flippers “Pioooo.”

~~~~

“So what brings you to Akala island?” Lana asked her friend as they strolled down the road between the beach and town. 

“Well, actually Aether consortium is thinking of constructing a mixed-use building on the Wela volcano side of the island. It’s gonna be part laboratory, part hotel and part residential housing…. And now that I'm in the process of taking over the family business… this will all be part of my responsibilities.” Lillie sighed. 

“Lillie, you’re my friend. Even if we've been out of contact for the past few years, I’ll always support you, but… Don’t you think there’s been enough construction here already? We need to preserve the natural beauty of this island…” Lana frowned at her friend.

“That’s exactly the thing… It’s why I went to the beach tonight to stare at the ocean. I do want to preserve it, but I don’t know how.” Lillie replied sighing. “I hoped feeling the fresh breeze and seeing the beaches again would help me figure this out…”  
Lana gazed at her friend and then back at the ocean, lost for words herself.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: I've decided to use Sarah and Harper's original Japanese names, Ho and Suh for this fic.

Lana paced around her room, pausing to fold and refold the clothes on her bed, before grabbing a pen from her desk and twirling it in her fingers. Two human shapes from the shadows of her door looked on. Meeting her old friend had left her with a myriad of thoughts.

"I just couldn’t believe how much she’s grown. She’s probably a foot taller than me now," Lana said to her sisters as they peered inside. "And not just that either, she’d probably be able to fill one of the starlet style bikinis you see the tourists wearing!"

"Sis, are you doting on your friend…" the twin sisters said together, stepping into her room.

"What? No," Lana said dismissively. "Even if I did swing that way, she's just so much of a fashionista. I couldn't stand dating someone like that. She’s not me at all. She’d probably say she’s too refined for me as well."

"Uh huh, really," the sisters said in unison.

"No!" came the firm reply from Lana, glaring at her sisters and feeling her cheeks rise in temperature.

The twins looked at each other and shrugged.

"Okay," replied Suh.

"But what was that about another resort you mentioned earlier?" Hoh said.

"Well, part of the reason she’s back on the island is to open up another resort," Lana said, settling down. "It just doesn’t sit well with me because I don’t want to see this island become like another Celadon City or Lumiose. I want the natural beauty to be preserved."

"But Lana, there’s always going to be progress. I think there can be a balance however. With the new resorts there’s more people coming to the island which is nice because we can make loads of new friends," Suh said, looking at Ho.

Ho nodded, "She’s right. I really do love all the new people who’ve come to the school because of the new resorts! I know nature means a lot to you, but blocking progress just for the sake keeping things the same makes you a stick in the mud."

Lana sighed. "You guys didn’t grow up like I did. It’s different for you."

"How so?" Suh and Ho inquired in unison.

"It... it... just is, ok," Lana, stammered.

Ho and Suh looked at each other and nodded. The two sisters went to their older sister and enveloped her in a hug.

"Look Lana, you know we’ll always support you and whatever. We just don’t want to see you as a crotchety old stick in the mud," Suh said.

"Heh. I’m too young for you to be worried about that yet girls," Lana chuckled. "Anyways, enough about me how’s your schooling going? I hear there’s a new teacher?"

"Oh goodness, you mean professor Sycamore," Suh started to speak.

"Yeah, he’s a total doofus," Ho said, rolling her eyes "He even gives professor Oak a run with his horrible puns," Ho finished for her other sister.

"He is a bit of a hunk though right?" Suh said, turning to Ho.

"You only say that because he's from Kalos and has that accent," Ho rolled her eyes.

"Sounds like I’d probably like him a lot then, for the puns anyways... " Lana replied, her words going mostly unnoticed by the sisters, who had started to quarrel.  
  
~~~~  
  
Before Lillie laid a oblong room which she stood at the front of. In the centre and taking up most of the space was a large oval table made of maple, around which sat eight people. At the back of the room, a large silver placard was mounted, engraved upon it: "AETHER CONSORTIUM: MAIN BOARDROOM."

Of the individuals seated around the table only two of them were familiar to Lillie, those two being Professor Kukui, and Professor Burnet. Lillie was mentally kicking herself for not having gone to see her old professors since returning to the island two days ago. The other members of the Board were completely unfamiliar to her.

Lillie placed her hands on the podium in front of her, moving her head closer to the long-stem microphone and mentally steadying herself.

"Hi everyone. As you know my mother decided to unusually depart on a sabbatical. As such the business and affairs of this company have been passed onto me, given the disappearance of my older brother. I have already been briefed regarding our plans on opening another resort, so there’s no need to tell me about that. However, if there are any other pressing matters please let me know. Otherwise I plan for this meeting to be short and largely for me to get to know you all," Lillie said to the large boardroom she uncomfortably found herself in.

" _I absolutely hate how tacit I sound right now… I told mother I’m not cut out for this and I don’t want to be,"_ she thought to herself.

"Hello, I’m Frank Giovanni. I’m the head of our acquisitions and real-estate department. It’s a pleasure to meet you Miss Lillie. I’ll be dealing with you quite a bit as we hammer out the final phase of purchasing our first resort and diversifying the company," a rather rotund man directly to her left said, as he wrinkled his nose.

"Hi! I'm Lychee! I'm the head of your financial department. I'll also be rather important to you as we can't buy land without money! I would like to just get you up to speed as well after we all introduce!!" The short and wiry man to the right of Frank exclaimed. Frank smiled, all to aware of his co-workers excited antics.

The short haired lady with a slender athletic build was the next to speak. "Hi. I’m Sarah, Head of Security. I have nothing extraneous to report although there are some concerns with regards to your _former friends_ I would like to discuss with you later."

Lillie was taken aback, her head snapping back into her chair. "Excuse me?"

"I really don’t mean any offense, but, some of your former friends have been involved in anti-development or extreme environmentalism which could pose a problem if you accidentally gave them insider info and—"

"No." Lillie glared at Sarah as she cut her off. "There is absolutely no problem. I know better than to do that so let’s not even explore that," Lillie finished. _"I hate this, I hate this,"_ she thought to herself.

Sarah opened her mouth and then shook her head. "My concern has been raised so that’s good enough for me, for now."

"Good," Lillie said flatly. "Next," she said looking to the somewhat chubby dark skinned man next to her.

"Hiya. I’m Russ. I’m your head of IT and Cybersecurity. While my concerns are less pointed than Sarah’s, I would like to ensure all your personal devices connecting to our systems are as secure as possible and that you’re following all proper procedures."

Lillie simply nodded to him before looking to the end of the table and smiling.

"Hey, I’m professor Burnet and to my left is professor Kukui. You know both of us, or at least I hope you do. And yes, he's still shirtless despite being a Pokemon research advisor to the board now," she said flicking her finger to her husband across from her. Kukui just smiled and shrugged, letting his shirt fall more open. Other board members could be seen rolling their eyes. "Cute, and I'm an advisor for your non-pokemon research side. Wicke sends her regards as she was unable to come, but she's the head of research now," Burnet finished.  
  
~~~~  
  
Deep in the catacombs of Aether Paradise a bulky man sat staring at his phone as a stream of two tiered messages came scrolling down through his split screened device. Around him were fellow workers, all as hulking as he was. Every single one of them was wearing black kevlar armor, black cargo pants with a assortment of pockets, and tools strapped around their belts. All around them computer screens lined the walls. Each individual screen had video feeds to a security camera. Occasionally one of the screens would show a red block around an individual walking, and a officer would look up at the screen, zooming in on the specific feed, examining it closely and then ultimately giving a subtle shake to the head.

The bulky man staring at his phone in the middle of the room shook his head vigorously. "OKAY TEAM. Listen UP! We just got word we're putting a security detail on one of the new employees. Maximum discreteness and maximum observance. I'm going to pass around the dossier and info along with the teams selected for duties."

"Yes sir!" Came a reply in unison from all the officers stationed at around the walls. A particularly short but still burly built man swivelled around in his chair and turned to the bulkier man in the middle of the room.

"Hey Clint, we're not observing the new temp CEO right? That's just... It's the new Janitor right? He's redboxed quite a bit... I assumed it was just the.." before he could finish he was cut off.

"INFORMATION ON A NEED TO KNOW BASIS Barkley! I've told you this a million times. Unless you need to know, we keep the chatter down in here," Clint replied, sternly staring at Barkley.

Barkley winced, "Sorry sir..." he said as he swivelled back around to his station.

"Now unless anyone else has any objections or stupid folly comments..." Clint mused mostly to himself. "No? good," he finished, wheeling his chair back to a station with three laptops and turning around to begin typing on one.  
  
~~~~

"Now. Our Q3 numbers are showing some promise. The diversification in manufacturing and mining industries and our buy-in on Alola Ores has already brought back some dividends. The research team has already received the usual round of grants plus the government saw fit to throw some extra money our way based on our extremely successful research project on the long term electricity effects of Pokemon in battles. With this extra money plus the money from the ores, I believe we will have more than enough to implement the mixed use building we want to," Lychee finished.

 _"He's completely different when he's talking about numbers,"_ Lillie thought to herself as she nodded to Lychee before speaking. "Thank you for that. And thank you everyone tonight."

"No problem! Thanks for listening!" Lychee replied.

Lillie smiled and continued. "All your insights are helpful and valuable. Now with regards to the mixed residential use building. I know it may be worrying for some of you having me come in half-way through the planning stage after my mother’s sudden departure. However, I just wanted to let you all know that I do hold a university degree in business management. Now before any of you go looking, yes my degree is for small to medium sized businesses, not a large company as Aether-C is. I do believe however, I can still apply what I've learned, size it up and do fine in the short term. Finally, with regards to the mixed use building. I want to make sure we go ahead with this both respecting our own business practices, the wishes of the locals as much as we can, and ensuring habitat for Pokemon is also respected just as much as the locals." Lillie said. _"Woooow. I definitely hate how this is so not me,"_ she thought.

"Anyways," Lillie said after taking a breath "If there are no more closing comments?"

All the board members said "no" in unison, save for Professor Kukui who said "Nope, Lillie!" This elicited another round of eye rolling from some of the board.

"Meeting adjourned. Be safe for those of you who are travelling to return home!" She said to everyone smiling, before promptly exiting the room.

Russ witnessed Lillie leave the room and turned to Sarah when he figured the new CEO was out of earshot. "I know she's trying her best, but I really do think she's a fish out of water here... I hope she doesn't drown."

Sarah raised her brows, pursing her lips and nodded in agreement.

Professor Burnet was quick to reply. "Russ, you don't know her... you'd be surprised how much hidden talent she has." Kukui nodded, looking at Russ.

Russ just shrugged. "I hope you're right Burnet, I hope your right."  
  
~~~~

As Lillie got in the car at the garage of Aether Paradise, she let out a deep sigh

"James... I greatly dislike having to be so business like," she said, starting to roll down her window.

"I understand completely. It's going to be an adjustment at first, however I do believe you will be fine," James said. "I would advise you roll up your window, the water is higher and choppier at night across the bridge connecting Paradise to Akala island. It's prone to spraying onto the roadway unfortunately."

"Thanks James..." Lillie said, hitting the button to roll up her window as her butler began to drive.

Lillie absentmindedly stared out the window as the scenery changed from tunnel to open air bridge. Soon after the car departed a wave came crashing over the bridge, splashing the side of the car.

"Told you Miss Lillie!" James said, looking in the rear-view mirror. He was surprised to see his young liege mostly unfazed, leaning deeply into the glass with half lidded eyes, her hair falling haphazardly down to the floor. He returned his gaze to the road.

As the car exited the bridge and re-joined up with the Akala connector, he looked back at Lillie once more. She was fast asleep, her head resting on the glass, hands and arms softly falling down towards her legs. James smiled at the sight.

James pressed a button on the centre console of the vehicle, a  bright blue "ZzZ" lighting up on the indicator cluster to the left of the speedometer.

 _"That should help her sleep,"_ James thought to himself, hearing the car engine slowly quieten itself. _"I do worry for her. It's quite a bit of responsibility to foist on someone at her age. Oh what ever was mistress Luisamine thinking..."_

As James thought back to all the car rides he had given Lillie's Mother too and from Aether Paradise and their family mansion, the driving became automatic and familiar. These roads he'd traveled on so frequently he could do them blindfolded. This allowed him to keep thinking and processing in a rare moment of quiet.

James was so deep in thought he almost missed the turn off for the mansion. Shaking his head as he turned, driving past the mansion gates he spoke softly to his young mistress, still asleep in the rear seat. "Lillie, we're almost home. Sorry to wake you."

Lillie stirred at her name, rolling her shoulders in a stretch and yawning. "Mmmmm. James. Please do not let me go to bed before calling Lana," she mumbled, her eyes still not fully opened.

"Yes Lillie," James replied curtly.

~~~~

"And the other thing you need to know about the Pokemon school is—" Lana was saying to her two sisters as they sat on her bed. Lana felt her pocket vibrate and put her index finger up towards her sisters, asking for quiet as she dove her other hand into her pocket.

"Lana Suiren, Akala Island captain here," she spoke, picking up her phone.

"Oh hey, It’s Lillie! Do you always answer with that tagline?" Came the chuckling reply on the other end.

"Hey Lillie! Yeah, it gets kind of automatic at times... So what’s up?" Lana asked. Out of the corner of her eye she caught her sisters charading with kissy-faces. Lana waved them away dismissively.

"Oh well, I was wondering if you would be free to catch up? Now that I’m on the island more permanently it would be great to get to know what’s been going on with everyone… that’s if you’re not busy… with all your duties and such..." Lillie said, her voice trailing off.

"I think I have a booking in two months," Lana said, sticking her tongue out.

Ho and Suh simultaneously rolled their eyes, all too aware of their sisters antics.

Lana shooed them away and out of her room, closing the door behind her.

"Oh… wow that busy eh," Lillie said.

"Just kidding," Lana coyly replied.

"Oh you... Still have that streak to you," Lillie said. "So I was thinking of meeting at the new cafe I saw named Chez Malasada, unless you have any other ideas.. You’re the local after all."

"Yeah, let’s do Cafe Hoen… the new Chez hasn’t been reviewed really well and I think you will really enjoy the parfait at Hoen."

"I knew I should ask a local!" Lillie chuckled.

"Yeah, if only you would trust locals on other things.." Lana replied absentmindedly.

"Hey…" Lillie frowned.

"Ahh sorry…" Lana trailed off, "I _am_ actually looking forward to meeting you."

"Okay! How does two days from now sound?" Lillie asked regaining her composure. "I'm looking forward to catching up too, I just have some unpacking and settling in to do tomorrow."

"Sounds good!" Lana said, mentally kicking herself for the earlier dig at her friend.

"Perfect. See you then," Lillie said.

"Bye Lillie," Lana said, snapping the phone shut. _"By Tapu Fini why am I harping on her so hard."_

~~~~

As Lillie hung up the phone, her brows furrowed as she looked to James. He was standing in the corner of her study, in a crisp three piece suit with a blank yet somehow soothing expression. It was a look that only someone who has been serving a family for as long as he has can develop. In the bright light of the room, she noticed that time had clearly played poorly on his face, with many wrinkles around his eyes and sun spots.

"James, you don’t think I’m being… too forward do you? Both with my friend and the board members," Lillie looked at her aging butler.

"Of course not Lillie, you’re no more poignant than your mother was," James replied.

"Oh, so you are saying I am being SOMEWHAT forward then?" Lillie retorted to James.

"Again, no more than your mother was," he sighed.

"Let me repeat myself. For me. Am I being too forward? Compared to my usual self," she inquired.

"I suppose you are acting somewhat out of your usual character, but it’s minor really m’lady, and expected given the role change."

"James, I’ve told you not to call me that formally. I know I took the title over from my mother for now but.. Please." she said trailing off, before continuing in a more regular voice. "It’s just since I moved here, I am wondering if we’re really making the right decision with the development. I’m torn between listening to my friends advice, going with my gut, and working in the best interests of the company. James I just don’t know what to do… I’m far too young to be dealing with all this."

"My dear Lillie... These are all valid concerns... But perhaps you should wait until you see what your friend or friends have to say in detail... You’ve only just arrived. There’s much time to find yourself and find your place again," James said softly.

Lillie laid her head on the large wooden office table. "I suppose you’re right," she muttered "But Lana is so different from me. I’m becoming more like my mother every day..."

"You’re probably more similar than dissimilar Lillie," James stated as he moved towards her. Grabbing her coat and placing it over her as she continued to lay her head on the table. James smiled as, for the second time that night he saw Lillie drift off to sleep. _"Poor young lady. The jet lag is affecting her so and yet she still pushes herself."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading yet another chapter! I hope you enjoyed and please feel free to comment or kudos :D. If you ever want to chat I can be found often in the r/fanfiction discord!  
> Big thanks to Stardust for editing help


	3. Chapter 3

Glistening light from the rising sun flitted through wispy white curtains, dancing over the visage of the rooms’ sole human occupant. Outside, the noise of Pikipeks chirping at each other could be heard.  Lillie was spread out over a large white canopy bed and nestled beneath a fluffy white comforter. Her blonde hair was asunder over her face and pillow, the sunlight illuminating her golden locks. She winced at the light and opened her eyes. At her feet, her Pokemon stirred and stretched out its front paws while shaking its six baby blue tails.

“Snooooow,” it yawned out.

“G’morning Snowy,” Lillie said as she rubbed her tired eyes. “It’s too cold and early for anything right now, isn’t it?”

“Snooow,” her Pokemon chortled to her unhelpfully.

Lillie stretched out her arms as she rolled out of bed. She headed towards her tall walnut chiffonier and grabbed her hairbrush to begin trying to tame her hair.

“Snow snoooow,” the Alolan Vulpix continued to chortle while rubbing its body against her legs.

“Yes, yes Snowy… food soon. Just be patient,” Lille bent down and scratched the white Vulpix’s ears.

 

~~~~

 

An ocean breeze blew through the room, sending the sickly sweet smell of salt through every crevice. On a simple bed the human occupant’s nose started to twitch as the ocean spray entered her senses. Hearing the waves splash against the rocks and pier outside, almost as if the sea itself was her alarm clock, the small blue haired girl threw her covers off in a haste and sprung out of bed.

As she threw her sheets off, a pokemon went flying with the sheets. A small blue seal somersaulted through the mess of fabric and landed, flapping its flippers together.

"Poppy popppiooo."

Lana put her hands up, holding an invisible sign board as she looked at Popplio, "Ten out of ten Poppy good job!"

She quickly grabbed a hairbrush from the side table and quickly brushed her short hair with it. Glancing at the clock on her table made of reclaimed deadwood she gently tapped the top of it. It lit up and read 6:56. 

"Beat you again Mr. Clock," Lana mused, sticking her tongue out to it.

She sauntered off to her dresser, which was well worn from years of use and full of haphazardly placed stickers in random intervals. The stickers themselves formed a timeline of her life, from photo machine stickers during her time at Pokemon school, political slogans, and others from far away given to her by visiting challengers. It's why Lana would never throw it away, despite its state of disrepair.   

Down to her left her Popplio had made a game of flitting in and out through the bed-sheets which had been haphazardly thrown on the ground a few moments earlier.

"Popplio, this isn't the time for games! We have to go feed Lapras, make sure Ho and Suh are ready for their day at Pokemon school, and on top of that we have our own training to do!" 

Lana grabbed the sheets and pulled with Popplio still inside. As she lifted them, popplio spun in the air, landing perfectly leading to another gleeful clapping of its paw pads.

"Honestly Popplio, sometimes I think you must have been raised by a Meowth and not by fellow Popplio," Lana rolled her eyes.

Popplio responded by looking down at the ground and eliciting a small "Poppioooo."

"Oh come on, com'ere you," she called out to him, kneeling slightly and stretching out her arms.

Her blue Pokemon jumped into her outstretched arms and she gave him a quick hug before loosening her grip and continuing to hold him.

"Time to go downstairs and deal with Ho and Suh... things are so hard now that Mom's gone," she sighed, her pokemon mimicking her sigh himself "Pioo."

As Lana stepped downstairs her sisters were already in the living room.

"No it's MY turn to watch morning cartoons," Ho said, with her left hand on the remote.

"No Ho, it's  _ my _ turn to watch the morning report on the Alolan region," Suh said, her right hand on the remote.

The two were in a tussle for the remote, barely noticing their older sister as she stepped downstairs.

"Honestly," Lana muttered to herself. "HO. SUH. CUT IT OUT," She yelled. Her two younger sisters stopped and stared.

"Thank you," Lana said slightly smiling "Ho, you have 30 minutes to watch your cartoons, Suh you have 30 minutes to watch your morning news for Alola... I don't want to hear any complaints okay...."

"Fine..." came the response from the two blue-haired sisters in unison.

"I'm going out to feed Lapras now, and if I come back in to find you two fighting...." Lana started as she stepped out the door, "No breakfast for you two," she finished closing the door behind her.

"But sis! That's cruel and unusual punishment," came a muffled reply, which Lana barely heard through the door.

Lana rolled her eyes and looked down at Popplio in her arms.

"I’ve never fought with them this much, have I Popplio?"

Popplio merely jumped out of her arms and headed towards the pier where Lapras was serenely floating between two of the docks, observing the blue seal coming towards her.

"Heh, you always do care more about the sea, don't you Popplio," Lana said to herself.

 

~~~~

 

Lillie creaked down the old wooden steps of her mother's estate, her Vulpix following closely in her footsteps. Snowy chortled as she moved, bumping her head continuously into Lillie and winding  her legs around in a fluffy assault. The Pokemon's belly rumbled as some of the six tails curled over Lillies feet. Lillie looked down and smiled at her hungry little fox.

As she walked into the main landing, James entered the room, carrying a tray laden with a bowl of brown kibbles with bits of blue in it and a plate of fruit, yogurt, some form of eggs and toast.

“Jaaames,” Lillie pouted, “I told you I can feed Snowy myself. It’s one thing to cook for me, but at least let me feed my own pokemon…” she finished, sighing.

“Fine, Miss Lillie,” James said as he handed her the bowl with Snowy’s food, putting the tray down on the ornate coffee table.

Lillie rolled her eyes, “That’s not what I-”

“Snoooow!” came the impatient call out from beneath her as the Vulpix watched its food change hands from its position on the ground.

“Yes Snowy, I know you’re hungry,” Lillie said as she put the bowl down and petted her white Pokemon. The Vulpix happily dug into its food.

Lillie herself sat down on the large plush couch and began to dig into her own food.

“Thanks James,” she said, flicking on the T.V. in front of her.

Her butler merely bowed and departed the room.

 

~~~~

 

Lana stood at the steps to the pier, where the Suiren family Lapras was floating. She grabbed a bucket of kelp before her descent. The bucket was helpfully left at the top of the steps by a local fisher as a small way of saying thanks to the Suiren family. Lana had no idea who they were or why such a deed was done, as the only thing she had to go by was a note left the first day it happened “from a fisher, as a repayment of gratitude from my family to yours.”

"Here you go Lappy," Lana said, smiling and tossing a large piece to the Lapras. 

The Lapras caught it silently and began to chew. As Lana fed Lapras, her Popplio deftly cut a swath through the water around the larger pokemon. He quickly looped around the submerged pier support beam, hunting for the small fish that seeked refuge in the shade of the dock, feeding himself breakfast while his trainer above fed Lapras. Occasionally, he would leap out of the water,jumping over the Lapras to land on the other side of the pier.

"Hey Poppy, you still need to conserve some energy okay! We do have that fight and practice later today," Lana called out " _ honestly he's like a kid in a candy store. Boundless energy." _

Her Pokemon jumped up onto the wooden pier and then onto her Lapras. The Lapras craned it's neck and nuzzled the small seal. Popplio swallowed a big gulp of the Sardines it was chewing and chortled back "Piooo" to the larger Pokemon.

"Heh, It's a shame you're just our ride Pokemon, Lapras. I'm sure you and Popplio would make a great team," Lana said, feeding the Lapras another small pokemon treat while continuing to rub it's neck with her large wooden brush.

Lana's attention was suddenly drawn to the sound of the house door creaking open.

"Hey Sis... we're hungry! We need to eat too!" came the voice of Suh as she poked herself outside of the door.

"I know Suh, I know... I just need to make sure Lapras is taken care of. She gets you to school and back now, perhaps you ought to be doing this instead of me," Lana yelled back as she flicked a large Lapras treat at her younger sister.

Suh caught it. "Lana, this isn't what I meant when I said I needed food." 

Suh threw the treat back in Lapras general direction. The sea Pokemon gladly snapped it up out of the air, having no issue extending her neck to get to the treat.

"Okay fine you win Suh," Lana said, wrapping her arms around the neck of the large pokemon in a quick hug. "Keep my sisters safe, okay?" Lana said before giving the Lapras a quick peck on the neck.

"As for you Poppy. Keep Lappy company while I make the two bickerers food, okay?" Lana said walking up the pier stairs. 

"Pioooo!" Popplio chortled as he jumped up on the Lapras head from his position her back. She was used to his antics, having slightly craned her head downwards before pushing him upward, giving him enough air to perform a perfect somersault before diving into the water, leaving no ripples as he cut through the surface tension.

 

~~~~~

 

“Hmm, nope, nope, nope. Eww too frilly,” Lillie said to herself as she flitted through her closet. 

She was still in her nightgown having only just changed from her breakfast attire. As she got to the end of the rung she placed her hand on an all too familiar dress, with threads well worn. “Perhaps… but perhaps too nostalgic,” she said, sighing to herself again. "I wonder however."

“James!” She called out down the hallway.

“Yes M’lady,” came the wheezing yell in return.

Lillie sighed at her butler once again calling her by that hated name “James, are you tied up with any housework or are you able to drive today?”

“Yes I can drive, where too?” James said as he slowly entered the room.

“I… I’m not sure yet. I am not even sure if I want to,” Lillie said as she looked at her closet. She grabbed the all too familiar dress and flipped it over, thumbing the tag.

James looked at Lilies hand on the hanger and dress, nodded to himself and  meekly smiled as he left her room.

As Lillie held the clothing tag she strained to read out the writing. The writing was well worn off after many years of wear. “Claire d L. e, Hmmm. I wonder. Claire de Lana? heh,” Lillie chuckled to herself. "It’s probably one of these two..” Lillie pulled out her phone and began a search. “Ahh Claire du Lune, that makes sense… Here goes nothing,” she said, typing out some notes putting her head up to the receiver on her phone. 

“Hello is this Lillie, of Aether Consortium, does your store by any chance carry Claire du Lune products,” Lillie said into her phone. “Oh you do!? Wonderful!”

Lillie put her phone down and into her pocket, smiling.

“James!” she started to yell, before realizing her butler was standing at the door, keys in hand “Oh,” Her voice lowered. “So, we’re going to head to Haute Sujet in the main mall… we do have a place to go!”   
  
James merely nodded “Yes Ma’am!”

 

~~~~~~~

 

Lana looked across the beach and in water. Across from her another Pokemon trainer, bespectacled with dark sunglasses and clad in a muscle shirt and Hawaiian shorts, was floating in a boat. In front of the trainer, his Dewpider floated on the water. It wasn’t often that Lana got to experience a water on water Pokemon battle. Lana was glad, that despite the fact she had barely made it here on time after feeding and sending her sisters off to school, she didn't have to cancel the fight. She smirked. She was going to cherish every moment of this rare battle.

"You ready Cool Dude?" Lana said across the water.

"Ayyyy I am!" Came the reply.

"Poppy, Bubble beam!" Lana called out.

Her Pokemon immediately responded. Popplio jumped up in the air and a stream of bubbles shot from its nose towards his opponent.

The Pokemon in front of him attempted to skirt around, but winced as the bubbles slammed into it with considerable force.

"Pider, use water gun!" Came the response from the trainer on the other side as his Pokemon shook off the damage.

"Poppy, DODGE!"

Before Lana even finished her words, her Popplio deftly moved aside from the stream. As Popplio moved the right, the stream of water clipped his left fin. Popplio fell towards the ground wincing in pain. Lana frowned  _ "He’s getting slow." _

"Poppy, come back!" Lana yelled out as she extended her arm and motioned to him. Her Popplio swam towards her, the water offering no resistance to his smooth frame. Just before reaching ashore he jumped up at Lana.

In one deft movement, like the water itself, Lana grabbed her blue seal Pokemon from the air, softening his landing as she placed him down before grabbing a Pokeball from her belt and throwing it upwards. 

"Wish, now it’s up to you!" she exclaimed as the Pokeball cracked open.

Springing out of the Pokeball came a small blue and white fish with an x cross on its eyes.

"Hah, that’s a first from ya. What's that puny little brah gonna do against my big Dewpider?" the muscly dude across from Lana said.

"Oh just you wait big guy, just you wait," came the smug reply from Lana.

Another small blue fish showed up beside her own, followed by another, then five more fish and more. In an instant there were thousands of the small blue fish. They formed a buzzing cohesive structure of one giant fish.

"And that’s the REAL power of a Wishiwashi," Lana said, continuing to smirk.

"School of Wishy, use Ancient Power!" Lana yelled out. The other trainer continued to stare before beginning to mouth something. Before finishing his command, he heard a rumble from ashore. Pillars of earth slammed into his Pokemon from beneath the water, finishing it off. 

"Aww NUTS," he said, recalling his Pokemon and throwing a Pokeball forward in the air. "Kyoo, it's up to you!" 

His Pokeball cracked open as a Kyogre came out. 

Lana started to wave her arms side to side as if she was mimicking waves on an ocean, a small blue tinge appearing on the ground before her.

"Uh oh dude," the other trainer replied, seeing what she was doing

"WISH, HYDRO VORTEX," Lana yelled out, the small blue tinge growing into electric blue energy floating from her body and out to her Pokemon.

"Kyo.. u... use Quick Attack," Cool Dude hesitated.

The space between the two trainers erupted into bright light. Sparks of blue and white flew from the epicentre where the two Pokemon hit. Through the brightness Lana could just make out Kyogre slamming into her Wishiwashi school. Soon after the water whirlwind slashed into the whale, sending it spinning.

The Kyogre somehow endured the hit, much to the surprise of both trainers. 

"Wishy, Take Down!" Lana called out, wasting no time after the last move. The giant school of Wishiwashi jumped out to water, slamming its body into the Whale Pokemon, sending spray and waves everywhere.

After the water had subsided it was revealed Kyogre had passed out.

"Aww man bro…," Cool dude replied, recalling his Pokemon before deftly jumping off his boat and begging to swim to Lana on shore. "Bros, bring the boat to me," He called out to his two Mantines tied to the craft as they began to pull the boat behind him.

Landing ashore, the large trainer shook off the water from his hair as he got up. He approached Lana and reached his big muscly arm towards her. Lana looked up at the hulking figure in front of her and smiled shaking his hand. "Good match, Cool Guy! One day I’m sure you’ll beat me."

"Haaaaa. Yeah duuude. One day," Cool Guy replied, while half lowering his glasses. "You’re one tough chickarita ya know that? I just can’t compete with ya speed. See ya later!" he finished, jumping back in his boat and speeding off, sending waves of wake as he went.

"Phew," Lana exhaled, as she plopped down on the sand.

"That was a good battle Popplio," she said to the seal Pokemon beside her. "You too Wish," She finished, yelling at the giant school of Wishiwashi further out in the water.

"We really need to work on your speed though poppy."

The blue Pokemon looked down at the ground "Pioooo."

"It’s okay," Lana said, patting the top of his head and grabbing him, embracing the seal into a tight hug.

"Now the real battle begins Tomorrow. Me versus Lillie," Lana chuckled to herself. "I still don't know what to wear!" she said, standing up suddenly.

 

~~~~

 

As Lillie sat on the counter, she had her phone out and was showing it to an associate. "I'm looking for this exact dress. Do you have it in stock."

The rather young woman Lillie was speaking to took a close look at the phone "Sorry do you mind if I just touch the phone, I need to zoom in on something."

"Oh yes, of course!" Lillie replied, "Here just do what you need," she said, handing the phone to the retail associate.

"Hmm Okay, there's the SKU I need," She said "Let me just put it in our inventory and do a look up. I don't think we have it in store but yeah.." She said handing the phone back to Lana.

"Yeah. I see we have nothing in our store. I do see our major outlet and one of the stores on the coast of Kanto has it. I could put in an order and have it shipped out here in 2 weeks."

"That's too long," Lillie frowned, "Is there any chance of any express shipping.. I'm... I'm willing to pay whatever it takes."

"Ummm...Well I could call the manager of the coastal store and see what he's willing to do."

Lillie paced around the store as the associate called her other store.

"Hey is your manager in, it's Haute Sujet out in Alola. Yeah I know. We're far out right."

There was a pause as Lillie looked up and listened.

"Hey Marnier, I have a customer here looking for CDL19823 in white. She's in a bit of a bind and needs it by tomorrow. She's willing to pay for whatever shipping needed to get it here ASAP."

"What? your FedPoke truck hasn't done it's pickup yet? Wow! That fast?! Yes that's fine. Yes of course I'll make sure she pays fully."

She hung up the phone as Lillie looked to her expectantly.

"Okay. So we might be able to get it in by tomorrow... but it's going to be a hefty express shipping, almost 4 times the value of the dress... There's also another option of semi.."

"Perfect!" Lillie said, cutting the associate off.

"Uhh.. you're willing to pay the full express?" the associate said, her eyes widening.

"Mmmmmhmm!" Lillie nodded enthusiastically while getting out her PokePhone again.

"Ohh cool one of those new phone pay apps?" the associate asked.

"Yep... That's okay right?" Lillie asked "I have old school card if needed."

"Yeah actually we just had our POS terminals updated 3 weeks ago," the associate said. 

 

~~~~

 

The two Suiren sisters, Ho and Suh sat on the edge of their sister Lana’s bed. As soon as the girls had arrived back from Pokemon School Lana had recruited them for help. They originally assumed it was chores, so it was much to their surprise to see Lana looking through her wardrobe, trying to find something nice to wear. Her wardrobe was a simple affair, a small cloth covered metal framed box with a zipper to close it. Her room had no closet to speak of, being originally designed as the attic for the whole house. She wouldn't complain however, her room was roomy because of this.

Lana looked at clothes as she flitted through and sighed before turning to her sisters.

"Am I really that boring? I can't find anything even close to what would work..." Lana grumbled, glancing back at them

"Well, I don't see you as boring," Suh said "It's more that... it's more that.... umm," Suh looked to her sister.

"You don't really make clothes a part of you. You're fun because of your personality and that shines through, even if you normally wear the same thing day in and day out," Ho said, finishing her sister’s sentence.

"Thanks Ho," Suh said.

"This doesn't help... I know Lillie is big into fashion and dressing up... I just don't want to look completely underdressed when I am hanging out with her," Lana spoke forlornly.

"I don't think it really matters. And if anyone’s judging you they're not worth your time," Suh said.

"I guess you’re right.. but.."

"We do understand Lana," Ho said, "We're here for you."

"Honestly though, I don't think she cared this much for any of her boyfriends," Suh said, looking at Ho.

"Right!?" Ho exclaimed.  

"Uuuuugh. Not this again," Lana puffed out her cheeks. 

"Sorry...Have you tried looking into Mother's room?" Suh asked "I know we're not supposed to go in there but..."

Lana looked sadly towards the window "I suppose... I suppose I could go down there and look." 

Lana turned around without saying a word and headed down the stairs. Suh turned to Ho and whispered as soon as Lana was out of eyesight "I'm not even sorry. She's fun to tease."

"Yep," Ho whispered solemnly.

 

~~~~

 

“How about this one?” Lana asked her two sisters. Lana was in a pale and plain blue summer sundress.

"The dress looks nice but it would need some heavy accessorizing to look good."

"Ugh," Lana grumbled, throwing the dress off and grabbing the next two items, as she struggled to put on a pair of jeans. Lana flopped on the bed, the two sisters vacating quickly. Lana was able to get the tight jeans on, and grabbed a top from the closet, a plain black top. Lana also grabbed a intricate choker and put that on.

"This one?" Lana asked the two sisters.

"No." Suh said flatly.

"Yeaaaah we really don't really need to be reminded of your goth phase..." Ho replied.

"Yeaah you're probably right, okay... time for the secret weapon!" Lana said, charged up. "But you two can't see this till it's ready okay!" Lana shooed the two girls down and out of her room

"Just tell us when you're ready!" Suh yelled up.

"Ya!" Lana yelled back. From under her bed she pulled out a box, the same box she had pulled out of her mom's room after the helpful suggestions from her sisters. On the plain white box was a note "Dear Lana, for your college graduation. Love, Mom."

 

~~~~

 

"Okay ready!" Lana called downstairs.

The two sisters eagerly ran up, curious as to what Lana's secret weapon was. When they came into visual range of Lana they stopped and stared, stunned. There was Lana, wearing a ankle length skirt that had the exact same pattern and colours as her old corded shorts. The top was similar to her old one but had thin lacy patterned shoulder straps, revealing Lana's muscular arms completely.

"What?" Suh asked "Where did..."

"From Mom," Lana said. "I found it in a box. It's like Pokemon school me 2.0!"

"That...works perfect," Ho said.

"Yay!" Lana jumped, the motion hastily causing the cord on the skirt to come undone and falling to the ground revealing the bottom of her usual one piece swimsuit.

"Really the swimsuit too," Suh said, rolling her eyes.

"Has to be accurate," Lana winked and started to giggle.

Ho and Suh both rolled their eyes "We're gonna go let you be a weirdo now and do our own thing if you're done with our help," Ho said as both sisters creeped downstairs.  

"Well fine!" Lana exclaimed.  _ "Honestly I couldn't have done it without them... They gave me the courage to go into her room for the first time since..." _

 

~~~~

 

Lillie sat on her bed, typing out some numbers on her phone and then deleting them. Her Vulpix was lying down beside her paying about as much attention as a cat would to their owner. Lillie sighed after typing the numbers for the seventh time and hit a green button. Lillie put the phone up to her ear and hopped out of her bed, her white Pokemon getting up and jumping to the floor itself.

"Hey Lana! It's Lillie," Lillie said as she heard her friends voice on the other end.

Lillie was pacing in her bedroom and walking in circles. As she talked on the phone, Snowy followed her around. "Hey Lana, I just wanted to call to make sure we're still good for tomorrow..."

"Of course we are. Why wouldn't we be?" Lana said "Wait you're not thinking of cancelling on me?" Lana frowned in her room as she sat on the bed, moving the pile of clothes from earlier aside.

"Oh no no!" Lillie replied panicked "Not unless you want to of course..."

"No no not at all," Lana said, feeling her heart speed up. 

"Okay well... I only asked because you're a big island champion now and such and I wasn't sure if things came up and yeah... I was just making sure... Chez Hoen tomorrow at 1pm yeah?" Lillie said.

"Yep! 100%," Lana said "See you tomorrow."

"Okay bye!" Lillie said, hanging up the phone.

As both girls hung up their phone in their respective houses, they both let out a "phew"

Lana fell backwards on her bed before turning to her Pokemon. "Ohh Poppy I was so worried she was going to cancel because of some business related crap."

Lillie sat down in her chair as Vulpix jumped on her lap. "I have no idea why I am so nervous about this, Snowy," she said, running her fingers along its white fur. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yet another chapter. Thank you for your continued readership :D Comments and thoughts are always welcome same with critiques!
> 
> Thanks to Knoare, AStellaSpook, and Enigmatic_Stardust for editing/review work.  
> Thanks to all the r/fanfiction discord as usual.  
> And once more, thank you, the reader for taking time to enjoy this work!


	4. Chez Hoen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two girls enjoy a nice relaxing afternoon.

Chez Hoen was unusually busy for this time of year. Lana looked around and noted the tropical plants all over between the chairs and placed on top of the bar. The bar itself was lined with bamboo wood and adorned with various tiki masks. Lana thought back to when she had first come to this place it was nothing more than a stand along the side of the road. Four very obvious tourists sat at the bar, their faces already red from a day out in the sun or from imbibing " _probably both"_  Lana thought to herself.

Thankfully, Lana herself had managed to secure a spot right at the edge of the patio. Giving her both an unobstructed view of the beautiful Alolan sea, and a view of the road to see when her friend arrived.

Popplio had his flippers draped over the bamboo railing, precariously leaning over the edge. His gaze pointed outwards towards the sea. Suddenly his head turned, glancing further down the road and happily chortling "Poppiooo!"

"Hmm what is it Poppy?" Lana leaned her head and glanced over at her blue Pokemon.

Popplio happily clapped his flippers in response, almost losing his balance before being propped up by Lana, he hand scooping underneath him.

"Whoa Poppy, easy," Lana looked out towards the street and narrowed her eyes trying to figure out why her Pokemon had suddenly changed demeanour.  
  
Further up the street she glanced a white car, about two decades older than most on the road and knew immediately why Popplio was excited.

Lana looked towards her wrist and stared at her Z-ring for a few seconds before rolling her eyes and looking at her other wrist. “Wow she’s right on time.” 

The car stopped in front of the cafe, the noise from its old-school four-stroke engine, unusual curvatures and how gleaming white it was, drew the attention of the patrons at the restaurant.

The passenger door opened. A lacy parasol was first to peek itself out and then opened to reveal a intricate design of doilies and other Victorian elegance. Stepping out of the car was Lillie, clutching a large white bag and ignoring her flustered butler who was halfway to her door after exiting the car himself “M’lady I could’ve…” he trailed off.

As Lana looked at her friend her eyes opened wide. It was as if she had gone back in time. Her friend was wearing an almost exact replica of the dress she wore back during their time in Pokemon school, only somehow more elegant. The dress had considerable more volume to it now, and Lana was sure her friend was wearing a petticoat underneath it. The trim on the ends of the dress was more complex, with zig-zag cuts that ended in tear drop shapes. The top part of the dress was pleated with more layers that before. Lana shook her head unsure of what she was actually seeing.

"Lana!" Lillie shouted, waving at her friend, beaming.

"Just give me a call when you need me," James said to Lillie as she moved towards her blue haired friend.

Lillie looked behind and nodded simply to her butler as she skipped towards her friend. She seemed to almost float towards her friend, her dress trailing with each skip she took, raising and lowering as if she herself was a flying type Pokemon.

The two trainers embraced and Lana finally found some words "Wow Lillie!" she exclaimed, looking up and down at her friend.

"I know right! Looks just like the old one! I looked up the company for my old dress and they still exist. Turns out they also have a store that carries them here too! So James and I went out to do some shopping and after some negotiating with the store and paying some hefty express shipping I got it JUST In time for our meeting," Lillie said, taking no pauses and positively beaming.

"It looks fantastic Lillie!" Lana said.  _I can’t believe she went through all this work_  she thought to herself.

  
"I know! It makes it all worthwhile to see your expression," Lillie said laughing. "Speaking of seeing things, I saw that from the car." 

"Huh?"

"Oh nothing, just you looking at your Z-ring instead of your watch," Lillie said, flicking her friend playfully.

"Gah," Lana flinched and felt her cheeks slightly rise in temperature. Lana instinctively looked towards her friends wrist. "Wait speaking of Z rings…"  
  
"Yep!" Lillie cut off her friend "I’ve got one too!" Lillie extended her arm out, the glint of the light blue crystal shone on her wrist as she showed it off. "It’s an Ice-Z for Snowy!"

"Snoooow!" Came a voice from the white bag Lillie was holding, as an Alolan Vulpix peeked it’s head out.

"Snowy!" Lana stated, grabbing the white Vulpix out of Lillies bag and nuzzling it.

"Hey! I know who you care about now." Lillie pouted.

"I can’t help it! She’s just so cute. And forgive me for missing BOTH of you." Lana stuck her tongue out while still cradling Snowy in her arms, who was all too happy to soak up the attention.   
  
"Snowy, you're such a sook!" Lillie chided her Pokemon "I also see I'm not the only one airing for some familiarity. That's the same pattern on the bottom of your dress as your old pants isn't it?"  
  
Lana nodded. "Mmmhmm! My mom left it for me before she went away! I think she custom made it herself, or had it tailored."  
  
"Ohhh it looks good! You should ask her if she's willing to tailor any of my own dresses."  
  
Lana stayed silent for a few seconds. "Yeah I should..." 

"Aaanyways. I’m famished," Lillie moaned.

Lana Nodded, and handed Snowy back to Lillie. The two trainers sat down and began to engage in conversation. 

~~~~~ 

"The princess has made contact," came a whispered female voice from the bushes above the Cafe, touching a headset in her ear.

"Affirmative 1-2, keep monitoring the situation and we’ll run another background on the anti-" came a voice through the headset.

The female in the bushes shook her head and muttered under her breath "I don’t know what this girl is doing associating with known anti-progressers… It’s infuriating. This company needs to progress and Tapu-Koko help me if she thinks she’s going to stop that."

~~~~~

 

"They're not too far out are they..." Lillie trailed off. 

  
"Naw. Besides I know Popplio can hold his own if something were to happen." Lana smiled. 

  
"I guess so could Snowy too..."

Lillie and Lana were looking across the street where, on a small beach, Popplio and Vulpix were chasing each other. The two Pokemon would run around, Popplio the better jumper and more maneuverable in the air, however Snowy had a sharper turn on the ground than the comparatively awkward seal Pokemon. Snowy was able to pounce on Popplio, who deftly rolled and threw the Vulpix off him softly.

"Aww they're like a couple of Kittens playing," Lillie mused.

"Hahah yeah... Although Poppy's just a giant goofball."  
  
"Ohh that's mean..."   
  
Lana shrugged.   
  
"I couldn't believe how much the mall has changed, this whole island is so different than I remember it, I'm discovering new things every day it seems..." Lillie started to speak. Lana turned her attention from the Pokemon on the beach and to her blonde friend.

~~~~  
  


Laid out between the two girls as they engaged in conversation was a small fruit plate. In front of Lillie was a large plate with a bubble waffle on it, adorned with strawberries and whipped cream. Beside that a glass of blended iced coffee. Lana had a simpler set in front of her, a small tropical smoothie and a wrapper from a muffin she had already finished.

"Oh and you just know how Sophocles is, now that he’s off at the prestigious Pokemon academy in Oxford," Lillie said waving her hand, before taking a sip of her drink. "Mmm I've missed this. Malasada espresso smoothie! Not something you can get off the island."  

"Mhmmm." Lana’s soothing voice replied. Lana found herself more interested in spending time with her friend than anything else at this moment.

"And of course from what I hear with Kaki being ever responsible with his Island Champion duties, on top of that, Mao is now competing on Heatmor’s Kitchen, that really leaves only you and I from the original gang.. I just miss things the way they were.” Lillie stopped and stared at her friend.

"Lana?"

"Huh. oh what?"

"Were you even listening to me?"

“Umm, to be honest Lillie... I just like hearing the sound of your voice, I’ve missed listening to it. I've missed you, especially now that Mallow's gone. I was only partially paying attention.”

“Eeeeee!” Lillie felt her body tense up and face flush.  
  
Lana's mind took a few seconds to realize what she had just said. She began to blush herself and scratched the back of her head.

“A A-nyways Lillie, how goes the new resort your building. I hear you just secured a new contract?” Lana asked, regaining her composure.

"Oh it goes," Lillie exhaled. "We just had our first board meeting which was largely for me to get used to the board members... I can't believe Kakui and Burnett are on my mom's board, even more so I can't believe Kakui was at the meeting shirtless!"

"Yeah, those two love birds have kept quite busy in retirement, and Kakui is well.. Kakui." Lana chuckled.

"I'm kinda surprised you asked me though Lana... I thought you were against the development of anything on the island," Lillie looked at her friend and titled her head slightly to the side.

"Yeah I am, not as much as I was in college, sure," Lana said to her friend. "But that doesn't mean Im not interested in what my friend is up to... as a friend."

"Ah," Lillie trailed off. "If I'm honest then, with you... I really wish I wasn't here to deal with this business stuff. I wish I was here to just have fun, or even just work as something under my mom and not work AS my mother," Lillie finished, twirling her straw around her fingertips.

"Well one way or another it's good to have an old friend back on the island," Lana said, smiling.

"It's good to be back, really," Lillie said. She scanned the waterfront and looked around. "More fisherpeople than I remember, but the coastal view just can't be beat."

"Yeah fishing has become more popular lately. Some trainers are even using it as a means to catch Pokemon now too," Lana said

"Wow. Shame I could never do that," Lillie muttered.

"What? What do you mean," Lana looked at her friend with squinted eyes.

"I don't know how to fish or even cast a rod anymore."

"Hold on? You don’t know how to fish!?" Lana said to her friend incredulously

"Yeah I know, we kinda did it in Pokemon school but...ah..."

"No, this won’t do. We’re going fishing tomorrow," Lana said firmly.

"What? So suddenly?" Lillie began speaking before noticing the gaze of her friend practically boring into her skull "Uh... Okay that’s fine... I guess."

~~~~

As Lana arrived home she opened the door and immediately found her sisters surrounding her, peppering her with a million questions. They were standing right in the front entryway as if they had been waiting for her. She felt like it was an interrogated.

"How was she? Was she wearing something cute? How did she think of you? What did you talk about?" Lana heard her sisters but couldn't even differentiate which sister was asking the question given how fast they were flying at her.

"It went good. She's actually coming over tomorrow morning and we're going out fishing!" Lana said "Now if you'll excuse me. I need to prep" Lana blew by her two sisters and headed upstairs into her room.

Lana entered her room, closed the door behind her and locked it before floompfing down on her bed and letting out a "Phew."   
_  
"I really hope that was the right decision. Was that too forward of me. Whaaaaa._ _Ah well noting I can do about it now... if she shows up she does. If she doesn't.. she doesn't."_

~~~~

Lillie stepped into the car and put the seatbelt over her lap but not above her shoulder. She laid down sideways and stretched out as much as she could in the car. She was thankful it was a luxury vehicle so she had ample room.

"Miss Lillie... I am loathe to remind you how unsafe that is"

"I know... just for a short while... Do we have any fishing equipment like rods or anything?" Lillie asked somewhat meekly.

"Hmmm.." James was surprised by the sudden question "I believe your mother has a set that should work with you. I doubt your fishing gear from when you were in Pokemon School would work... nor would the scuba set fit.." The butler smiled as he remembered Lillie in the oversized scuba gear.

"Jaaames. You know I don't need that anymore," Lillie rolled her eyes.

James chuckled. "Right, sorry Lillie. Just teasing. But whatever do you need them for?"

"Because Lana invited me out fishing tomorrow as I haven't done it since Pokemon School and she was shocked... I accepted even if... Well I am worried it's too soon to hang out with my friend again... Gah. I just need to decompress. But yeah. Tomorrow morning I need you to drive me to Lana's place," Lillie finished, as she uprighted herself and put her seatbelt on properly, looking out the window.

"Of course Miss Lillie. I'll fish the gear out tonight. Get it..." He chuckled again.

"Oh my goodness James, you're awful with the puns and jokes tonight."

"Hoho, I guess I am."  
  
James found himself in a very good mood. He heard his young mistress had not made many close friends, if any at all while she was studying in Kanto. He was therefore pleased as punch to see her having fun with a friend again, even if it was an old one. James was allowing to let it show through his usual butler demeanour, largely because he couldn't stop it from showing even if he wanted too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading yet another chapter! I hope you enjoyed and please feel free to comment or kudos :D. Although please keep in mind this is a free piece of writing and overly critical comments may be deleted. If you absolutely must "Gordon Ramsay" or "Simon Cowell" my work please do so via private message, thanks. :)
> 
> If you ever want to chat I can be found often in the r/fanfiction discord!  
> Big thanks to DG for editing help

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Please be sure to give me any feedback or thoughts in the comments!  
> Thanks to FrozenSound for editing


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